KR102327037B1 - Cell on-off procedure for dual connectivity - Google Patents

Abstract

Reporting of channel state information and dynamic cell mode indication for dormant cells in a dual connectivity carrier aggregation environment is disclosed. UEs may be configured for carrier aggregation of cells associated with non-collocated eNBs, wherein the non-collocated eNBs include a master eNB (MeNB) and one or more secondary eNBs (SeNB). capable, each of which supports multiple carrier frequencies. Indicators of cell mode for secondary cells of the MeNB or SeNB are sent periodically using a broadcast mechanism, and may configure active or dormant sub-periods within the indicated periods. The indicators may be transmitted by a primary cell for the MeNB or a special secondary cell for the SeNB. Alternatively, the indicators may be transmitted by the secondary cell. When CSI measurements occur for a dormant cell, the UE may report CSI during dormant periods, suppress CSI reporting during dormant periods, or report some types of CSI during dormant periods and report other types of CSI during dormant periods. Things may not be reported.

Description

CELL ON-OFF PROCEDURE FOR DUAL CONNECTIVITY

[0001] This patent application is filed on January 6, 2015 by Damnjanovic et al., and is entitled "Cell On-Off Procedure for Dual Connectivity," US Patent Application Nos. 14/590,592; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/933,822, filed January 30, 2014, and entitled "Cell On-Off Procedure for Dual Connectivity" by Damnjanovic et al. transferred to the assignee of

BACKGROUND Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. Such systems may be multiple access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (eg, time, frequency and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.

In general, a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations that each simultaneously support communication for multiple mobile devices. Base stations may communicate with mobile devices on downstream and upstream links. Each base station has a coverage range, which can be referred to as the cell's coverage area. In some cases, the coverage area may be subdivided into multiple cells. Also, in some cases, a base station may transmit multiple component carriers on different portions of the available spectrum. These component carriers may also be referred to as cells.

A UE may be served by more than one carrier. In some cases, the UE may be served by multiple carriers transmitted from a single base station, and in other cases, the UE may be served by multiple carriers transmitted from more than one base station. When more than one carrier is configured to serve one or more UEs, there may be periods during which one or more of the configured carriers may not transmit data to the UEs. Continuing to transmit control information or reference signals when the carrier has no data to transmit to the UEs may lead to inefficient use of resources for the base station and UEs.

The described features generally relate to one or more improved systems, methods, or apparatuses for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a multi-carrier environment. In some embodiments, indicators of cell mode for one or more secondary cells are (eg, periodically or aperiodically) using a transmission mechanism (eg, broadcast, unicast, multicast, etc.) ), and may constitute active or dormant sub-periods within the indicated periods. Indicators of the cell mode for the secondary cell may be transmitted on carriers of the primary cell, or indicators may in some cases be transmitted on carriers of the secondary cell. Dormancy may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may be configured for dual-connection carrier aggregation using carriers from non-collocated base stations. A master cell group associated with a master base station may include a primary cell and one or more secondary cells, while a secondary cell group associated with a secondary base station may include one or more secondary carriers, one of the secondary carriers. One may be a special secondary carrier capable of carrying an uplink control channel for carriers of the secondary cell group. Cell dormancy is for secondary cells of a secondary cell group using indicators of the cell mode broadcast by a special secondary carrier or in some cases by each of the secondary cells of the secondary cell group. can be supported.

Some embodiments relate to managing channel state information (CSI) reporting for dormant secondary cells. When CSI measurements occur for a carrier associated with a dormant secondary cell, the UE may report CSI during dormant periods, suppress CSI reporting during dormant periods, or a portion of the CSI during dormant periods It may report types and not others (eg, periodic reporting and aperiodic suppression, etc.). The reported CSI may be based on CSI measurements if the secondary cell was dormant, or may be based on previous CSI measurements made if the secondary cell was active. These techniques may be applied to reporting of CSI for secondary carriers of a master cell group or a secondary cell group.

A method of wireless communication is described comprising monitoring indications of cell dormancy for a multi-carrier configuration, wherein the multi-carrier configuration includes a first carrier group and a second carrier group, wherein the first carrier group comprises a first Associated with a base station and comprising a primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers comprising only a primary carrier or one or more secondary carriers, a second carrier group being associated with a second base station and comprising one or more two and a second set of secondary carriers comprising primary carriers. The method may include determining, based on the monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers are dormant.

[0009] A wireless communication apparatus is described comprising means for monitoring indications of cell dormancy for a multi-carrier configuration, wherein the multi-carrier configuration includes a first carrier group and a second carrier group, wherein the first carrier group comprises a first a first set of secondary carriers associated with a first base station and comprising only a primary carrier, or a primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers comprising one or more secondary carriers, wherein a second carrier group is associated with a second base station and includes one or more and a second set of secondary carriers comprising secondary carriers. The apparatus may include means for determining, based on the monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers are dormant.

[0010] Processor; a memory in electronic communication with the processor; and instructions stored in a memory, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to monitor indications of cell dormancy for a multi-carrier configuration, wherein the multi-carrier configuration comprises a first carrier group and a second carrier configuration. a first carrier group and a first set of secondary carriers associated with a first base station and comprising only a primary carrier or one or more secondary carriers and a primary carrier; The carrier group is associated with a second base station and includes a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The memory may include instructions executable by the processor to determine, based on the monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers are dormant. have.

[0011] A computer program product for wireless communications is also described, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, the instructions to a processor to monitor indications of cell dormancy for multi-carrier configuration. wherein the multi-carrier configuration includes a first carrier group and a second carrier group, wherein the first carrier group is associated with a first base station and includes only a primary carrier, or 2 including one or more secondary carriers. a first set of secondary carriers and a primary carrier, wherein the second carrier group is associated with a second base station and includes a second set of secondary carriers comprising one or more secondary carriers. The computer readable medium includes instructions executable by a processor to determine, based on monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers from at least one of a first set of secondary carriers or a second set of secondary carriers are dormant. may include

[0012] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein determining, based on a received cell mode indicator, at least one of a first set of secondary carriers or a second set of secondary carriers determining that the secondary carrier from is dormant.

[0013] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein determining, based on the absence of a cell mode indicator, from at least one of a first set of secondary carriers or a second set of secondary carriers determining that the secondary carrier of

A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein monitoring a first carrier group for cell mode indicators associated with one or more secondary carriers from a first set of secondary carriers monitoring the primary carrier of

[0015] Such a method, apparatus and computer program product is also described, wherein monitoring from a first carrier group for cell mode indicators associated with one or more secondary carriers of a first set of secondary carriers monitoring one or more secondary carriers of

[0016] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein a second carrier group comprises a special secondary carrier, monitoring comprising: one or more secondary carriers of a second set of secondary carriers; and monitoring a special secondary carrier for associated cell mode indicators.

[0017] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein a second carrier group comprises a special secondary carrier, monitoring comprising: one or more secondary carriers of a second set of secondary carriers; and monitoring one or more secondary carriers of a second set of secondary carriers for associated cell mode indicators.

[0018] Such a method, apparatus and computer program product is also described, monitoring, for downlink control information (DCI) comprising indications of cell dormancy, at predefined time intervals, a first carrier and monitoring one or more search spaces of at least the first carrier of the group and at least the second carrier of the second carrier group.

A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein monitoring indications of cell dormancy for a multi-carrier configuration comprises activation states of secondary carriers of first and second sets of secondary carriers. based on

[0020] Such method, apparatus and computer program product are also described, further comprising receiving indications of cell dormancy associated with one or more secondary carriers, wherein determining comprises: determining one or more two for a predetermined period of time. determining that the car carriers are dormant.

[0021] Such a method, apparatus and computer program product is also described, further comprising receiving indications of cell dormancy associated with one or more secondary carriers, wherein determining when a next cell dormancy indication is received and determining that one or more secondary carriers are dormant until

[0022] Such a method, apparatus and computer program product is also described, wherein the predetermined period of time comprises one or more radio frames.

[0023] A method of wireless communication is described comprising determining at a UE operating in a multi-carrier configuration that at least one secondary carrier is dormant, the multi-carrier configuration comprising a first carrier group and a second carrier group; a first carrier group is associated with a first base station and includes a primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers comprising only a primary carrier, or one or more secondary carriers, and wherein the second carrier group includes a second base station and a second set of secondary carriers that is associated with and includes one or more secondary carriers. The method may include determining a channel state information (CSI) reporting configuration for the at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant.

[0024] A wireless communication apparatus is described comprising means for determining that at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a multi-carrier configuration, wherein the multi-carrier configuration includes a first carrier group and a second carrier group; a carrier group is associated with a first base station and includes only a primary carrier, or a first set of secondary carriers comprising one or more secondary carriers and a primary carrier, and the second carrier group is associated with a second base station and a second set of secondary carriers comprising one or more secondary carriers. The apparatus can include means for determining a CSI reporting configuration for the at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant.

[0025] Processor; a memory in electronic communication with the processor; and instructions stored in a memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to determine that at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a multi-carrier configuration, wherein the multi-carrier configuration is a first carrier configuration. a group and a second carrier group, wherein the first carrier group is associated with a first base station and includes only a primary carrier, or a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers and a primary carrier and the second carrier group includes a second set of secondary carriers associated with the second base station and including one or more secondary carriers. The memory may include instructions executable by the processor to determine a CSI reporting configuration for the at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant.

[0026] A computer program product for wireless communications is also described, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that indicate that at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a multi-carrier configuration. is executable by the processor to determine, wherein the multi-carrier configuration includes a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group being associated with the first base station, only the primary carrier, or one or more secondary carriers and a primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers comprising The computer-readable medium can include instructions executable by a processor to determine a CSI reporting configuration for the at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant.

In some embodiments, the method described above includes determining whether at least one secondary carrier is associated with a first base station or a second base station, and based on the determined association and reporting CSI Depending on the configuration, it may include features of performing CSI reporting for at least one secondary carrier to the first base station or to the second base station. The devices and computer program products described may comprise means, code or instructions executable by a processor to perform these features.

[0028] Such method, apparatus and computer program product are also described, wherein the CSI reporting configuration comprises: CSI reporting on at least one secondary carrier for one or more of periodic CSI reporting or aperiodic CSI reporting or a combination thereof. including suppressing

[0029] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein the CSI reporting configuration is for channel measurements of at least one secondary carrier during at least one time period during which the at least one secondary carrier was non-dormant. based on reporting CSI.

[0030] Such a method, apparatus and computer program product is also described, wherein the CSI reporting configuration further comprises averaging channel measurements from at least one time period.

[0031] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described, wherein configuring CSI reporting includes reporting CSI based on measurements for at least one secondary carrier.

[0032] Such a method, apparatus and computer program product is also described, wherein the reported CSI is one of channel measurements of at least one secondary carrier, interference measurements of at least one secondary carrier, or a combination thereof. includes more than

[0033] Additional scope for the applicability of the described methods and apparatus will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims and drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0034] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized with reference to the following drawings. In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference level. Additionally, various components of the same type may be distinguished by a dash after the reference label and a second label that distinguishes between similar components. If only the first reference label is used herein, the description is applicable to any of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.
1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system in accordance with various embodiments;
2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system with multiple component carriers serving a wireless communication device in accordance with various embodiments.
3 shows a diagram of a conventional subframe and a dormant subframe in accordance with various embodiments;
4A, 4B, and 4C show diagrams of a periodic dormancy indication for secondary subcarriers in accordance with various embodiments.
5 shows an example of a wireless communication system including a wireless communication device configured for dual connectivity carrier aggregation in accordance with various embodiments;
6A and 6B show diagrams of a CSI reporting configuration for dormant time periods in accordance with various embodiments.
7 shows a device for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments;
8 shows a device for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments;
9 shows a device for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments;
10 illustrates a wireless communication device for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments;
11 shows a device for dynamic cell mode indication for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments;
12 shows a base station for dynamic cell mode indication for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments;
13A and 13B show flow diagrams illustrating methods for dynamic cell mode indication in accordance with various embodiments.
14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for configuring CSI reporting for dormant secondary cells in accordance with various embodiments;
15A and 15B show flow diagrams illustrating methods for dynamic cell mode indication for dormant cells at a base station in accordance with various embodiments.

Systems, methods, or apparatus are described for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment. In some embodiments, indicators of cell mode for one or more secondary cells are (eg, periodically or aperiodically) using a transmission mechanism (eg, broadcast, unicast, multicast, etc.) etc.), and may constitute active or dormant sub-periods within the indicated periods. Indicators of the cell mode for the secondary cell may be transmitted on carriers of the primary cell, or indicators may in some cases be transmitted on carriers of the secondary cell. Dormancy for predetermined periods of time may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may be configured for dual-connection carrier aggregation using carriers from non-collocated base stations. A master cell group associated with a master base station may include a primary cell and one or more secondary cells, while a secondary cell group associated with a secondary base station may include one or more secondary carriers, one of the secondary carriers. One may be a special secondary carrier capable of carrying an uplink control channel for carriers of a secondary cell group. Cell dormancy is for secondary cells of a secondary cell group using indicators of the cell mode broadcast by a special secondary carrier or in some cases by each of the secondary cells of the secondary cell group. can be supported.

Some embodiments relate to managing channel state information (CSI) reporting for dormant secondary cells. When CSI measurements occur for a carrier associated with a dormant secondary cell, the UE may report CSI during dormant periods, suppress CSI reporting during dormant periods, or a portion of the CSI during dormant periods It may report types and not others (eg, periodic reporting and aperiodic suppression, etc.). The reported CSI may be based on CSI measurements if the secondary cell was dormant, or may be based on previous CSI measurements made if the secondary cell was active. These techniques may be applied to reporting of CSI for secondary carriers of a master cell group or a secondary cell group.

[0053] The following description provides examples and is not a limitation of the scope, applicability or configuration set forth in the claims. Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements discussed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in other embodiments.

1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with various embodiments. System 100 includes base stations 105 , communication devices also known as user equipment (UE) 115 , and a core network 130 . Base stations 105 may communicate with communication devices 115 under the control of a base station controller (not shown), which may be part of core network 130 or base station 105 in various embodiments. The base stations 105 may communicate control information or user data with the core network 130 via backhaul links 132 . In embodiments, the base stations 105 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly via backhaul links 134 , which may be wired or wireless communication links. System 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters can transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. For example, each communication link 125 may be a multi-carrier signal modulated according to the various radio technologies described above. Each modulated signal may be transmitted on a different carrier and may carry control information (eg, reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, data, and the like.

Base stations 105 may communicate wirelessly with devices 115 via one or more base station antennas. Each of the base station 105 sites may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic area 110 . In some embodiments, base stations 105 are a base transceiver station, wireless base station, access point, wireless transceiver, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), Home NodeB, Home eNodeB, or any other suitable term. The coverage area 110 for the base station may be divided into sectors constituting only a portion of the coverage area (not shown). System 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (eg, macro, micro, or pico base stations). There may be overlapping coverage areas for different technologies.

In embodiments, the system 100 is an LTE/LTE-A network. In LTE/LTE-A networks, the terms evolved Node B (eNB) and UE may be used generically to describe base stations 105 and devices 115 , respectively. The system 100 may be a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network in which different types of eNBs provide coverage for various geographic areas. For example, each eNB 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or other types of cells. The term “cells” is a 3GPP term that may be used to describe a base station, a carrier associated with a base station, or a coverage area (eg, sector, etc.) of a carrier or base station, depending on the context.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (eg, several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with a network provider. A small cell is a low power base station that can operate in the same or different (eg, licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells include pico cells, femto cells and micro cells. A pico cell will generally cover a relatively smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with a network provider. A femto cell will also generally cover a relatively small geographic area (eg, home), and UEs with an association with the femto cell (eg, a UE within a closed subscriber group (CSG)). , UEs to users at home, etc.). An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico eNB. And an eNB for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto eNB or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple (eg, 2, 3, 4, etc.) cells.

[0058] The eNB 105 may include a base band unit (BBU) and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs), which may include an electrical or optical internal interface (eg, common public radio interface (CPRI), etc.). ) can be connected to the BBU. Thus, RRHs typically have an ideal backhaul to the BBU and operate under the control of the eNB 105 (eg, scheduling, precoding, etc.). The term small cell network may be used to refer to a distributed radio technology comprising a centralized BBU and one or more RRHs. However, each RRH of a small cell network typically uses the same carrier frequencies and transmits on resources scheduled by the BBU. Thus, all of the RRHs of this distributed radio network connected to the same BBU are part of one base station or eNB, for the purposes of this description.

The core network 130 may communicate with the eNBs 105 via a backhaul 132 (eg, S1 , etc.). The eNBs 105 may also be configured indirectly, for example, via backhaul links 134 (eg, X2, etc.) or via backhaul links 132 (eg, via the core network 130 ). can communicate with each other directly or directly. The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the eNBs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different eNBs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the eNBs may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different eNBs may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operations.

Communication networks that may accommodate some of the various disclosed embodiments may be packet-based networks that operate according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly for communicating through logical channels. A MAC (Medium Access Control) layer may perform multiplexing and priority handling of logical channels to transport channels. The MAC layer may also use Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) which provides retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide the establishment, configuration and maintenance of an RRC connection between the UE and the network used for user plane data. At the physical (PHY) layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100 , and each UE may be stationary or mobile. UE 115 may also be referred to as a mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscription by those of ordinary skill in the art. may also be referred to as home country, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or any other suitable terminology. The UE 115 is a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless modem, wireless communication device, handheld device, tablet computer, laptop computer, cordless phone, wireless local loop (WLL). station, etc. A UE may be capable of communicating with macro eNBs, pico eNBs, femto eNBs, repeaters, and the like.

Communication links 125 shown in system 100 are uplink (UL) transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105 or downlink (DL) from a base station 105 to a UE 115 . ) transmissions. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, while uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions. Links 125 may transmit bidirectional communications using FDD (eg, using paired spectrum resources) or TDD operation (eg, using unpaired spectrum resources). A frame structure for FDD (eg, frame structure type 1) and a frame structure for TDD (eg, frame structure type 2) may be defined.

The wireless network 100 may support operation on multiple carriers, which may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. A carrier may also be referred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, and the like. The terms “carrier”, “CC”, “cell” and “channel” may be used interchangeably herein. The carrier used for the downlink may be referred to as a downlink CC, and the carrier used for the uplink may be referred to as an uplink CC. The UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs for carrier aggregation. Carrier aggregation may be used for both FDD and TDD component carriers.

In one embodiment, UEs 115 are configured with UE-specific primary carriers (eg, primary cell or PCell) or one or more secondary carriers (eg, secondary cells or SCell). ) is composed of The PCell may include a downlink primary CC (eg, a downlink PCC) and an uplink primary CC (eg, an uplink PCC). The SCell may include a downlink secondary CC (eg, downlink SCC) and, if configurable, an uplink secondary CC (eg, uplink SCC). Control information including scheduling for SCells may be performed on the SCell or a different cell (PCell or SCell), which may be referred to as cross-carrier control signaling. The PCell may be identified (eg, with the strongest available carrier, etc.) by the UE 115 before being configured with respect to the eNB 105 . Once the UE 115 establishes a connection with the eNB 105 via the PCell, one or more SCells may be configured via higher layer signaling (eg, RRC, etc.). The configuration of the SCells may include, for example, transmitting all system information (SI) for the SCell through RRC signaling.

In some cases, both PCell and SCells are supported by the same base station 105 . In other cases, a PCell may be supported by one base station 105 and one or more SCells may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105 . The techniques described herein may be applied to a carrier aggregation scheme by any number of SCells and PCells supported by one or more base stations 105 .

In some cases, configured SCells are activated and deactivated for respective UEs 115 by a configuration cell using a primary carrier (eg, PCell, etc.). For example, activation and deactivation commands for configured SCells may be carried in MAC signaling. When the SCell is deactivated, the UE 115 does not need to monitor for control information for the SCell, does not need to receive the corresponding downlink CC, cannot transmit on the corresponding uplink CC, and the channel quality Nor is it required to perform information (CQI) measurements. Upon deactivation of the SCell, the UE may also flush all HARQ buffers associated with the SCell. Conversely, when the SCell is active, the UE 115 is expected to be able to receive control information or data transmissions for the SCell and perform CQI measurements. The activation/deactivation mechanism is based on the combination of the MAC control element and the deactivation timers. The MAC control element carries a bitmap for individual activation and deactivation of SCells such that the SCells can be activated and deactivated individually, and a single activate/deactivate command can activate/deactivate a subset of SCells. In general, one deactivation timer is maintained per SCell. In some cases, all timers for the UE may be configured with a common value via RRC. However, UEs are not limited to one timer per SCell, or to all timers being configured with a common value.

The SCell may be configured to serve one or more UEs 115 , but in some cases may not have data to transmit to the UEs 115 . To conserve power to the eNB 105 and UEs 115 , the SCell may enter a dormant state during time periods in which no data is scheduled. During dormancy, the cell may transmit sparse overhead signals and channels on the downlink carrier sufficient for a radio resource control (RRC) connected UE to detect, measure, and report the dormant carrier to the primary cell. In some cases, higher performance may be obtained by faster turn on and turn off times during cell dormancy. For example, a cell on/off mechanism operating at the frame or subframe level may provide higher performance gains.

During dormant periods of the SCell, the SCell may be deactivated for each UE served by that SCell. However, cell activation/deactivation is not a sufficient mechanism to support notification of cell dormancy, and cell activation/deactivation cannot support dynamic cell dormancy over the order of frames or subframes. For example, separate activation/deactivation commands are sent to each UE served by the SCell, which occupies significant resources and may take up several subframes or more for each served UE's notification. Also, there is a delay (eg, 8 subframes, etc.) between the MAC control elements activating or deactivating the SCells and the UE monitoring the control information and measuring the carrier for CSI reporting. Moreover, since UEs do not perform CSI measurements on deactivated SCells, reactivation of a cell that is fully dormant can be a fairly slow process.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 220 with a UE 115 - a served by carriers 225 in accordance with various embodiments. In one embodiment, carrier 225 - a may be one or more primary carriers (eg, primary cell or PCell), and other carriers (eg, 225 - b, 225-n, etc.) may be one or more secondary carriers (eg, secondary cells or SCells). The PCell may include a primary downlink CC and an uplink primary CC. The SCell may include a secondary downlink CC and, if configurable, a secondary uplink CC. In some cases, both PCell 225 - a and SCells 225 - b , 225 - n are supported by the same base station 105 - a. In other cases, the PCell 225 - a may be supported by one base station 105 - a, and one or more SCells 225 may be supported by a different base station 105 (not shown). . The techniques described herein may be applied to a carrier aggregation scheme by any number of SCells and PCells supported by one or more base stations 105 .

The systems of FIGS. 1 and 2 including a base station 105 or UEs 115 may be configured for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment. can Indicators of cell mode for carriers for one or more SCells may be unicast (eg, transmitted to a single target UE), multicast (eg, transmitted to a selected subset of UEs) or broadcast (eg, transmitted in such a way that it can be received by all served UEs) may be transmitted using signaling, and transmitted aperiodically or periodically to configure active or dormant sub-periods within indicated periods. can be Indicators of cell mode for the SCell may be transmitted on carriers of the PCell, or indicators may in some cases be transmitted on carriers of the SCell. Dormancy may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

Some embodiments relate to managing channel state information (CSI) reporting for dormant SCells. When CSI measurements occur for a carrier associated with a dormant SCell, the UE may report CSI during dormant periods, suppress CSI reporting during dormant periods, or perform some types of CSI during dormant periods. report and others not (eg, periodic reporting and aperiodic suppression, etc.). The reported CSI may be based on CSI measurements if the SCell was dormant, or based on previous CSI measurements made if the SCell was active.

3 shows a diagram 300 of a radio frame 305 for an OFDMA downlink component carrier 325 in accordance with various embodiments. Component carrier 325 covers the amount of bandwidth available for a carrier, which can be partitioned into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers 315 , which subcarriers are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, and so forth. Each subcarrier 315 may be modulated with data. One subcarrier 315 spanning one symbol period 320 may be referred to as a resource element 340 . The spacing between adjacent subcarriers 315 may be fixed, and the total number K of subcarriers 315 may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, K is 72, 180 with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilohertz (KHz) for the corresponding system bandwidth (with guardband) of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 megahertz (MHz). , 300, 600, 900 or 1200, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into sub-bands. For example, a sub-band may cover 1.08 MHz, and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 sub-bands.

The radio frame 305 may have a radio frame length of 10 milliseconds (ms). The frame 305 may be divided into a number of subframes 310 . For example, frame 305 may be divided into 10 subframes 310 as shown in figure 300 , where each subframe may have a length of 1 ms. Each subframe 310 may be further subdivided into multiple symbol periods. Each symbol period may cover a length of time sufficient to transmit a single modulation symbol. The symbol period may also include a time period reserved for transmission of a cyclic prefix or a guard period.

The resource elements 340 may be used for different purposes. For example, a set of resource elements may be reserved for transmission of a downlink control channel. This set may correspond to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 330 - a or 330 - b. Another set of resource elements may correspond to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) 335 - a or 335 - b. Some resource elements in the PDCCH 330 or PDSCH 335 include reference signals (eg, cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), positioning reference signals (PRS)). ), multicast-broadcast single-frequency network (MBSFN) reference signals, UE-specific reference signals, which may also be known as demodulation reference signals (DM-RS), etc.). The reference signals may be used for channel identification and channel quality estimation. The PDSCH 335 - a may be used to transmit user data to one or more UEs 115 with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 .

As illustrated in FIG. 3 , a radio frame 305 for a downlink component carrier 325 may include a conventional subframe 310 - a and a dormant subframe 310 - b . Component carrier 325 may correspond to, for example, a downlink carrier of SCell 225 - b or SCell 225 - n of FIG. 2 . In one embodiment, the carrier may be dormant for one or more frames 305 . In another embodiment, the carrier may be dormant for multiple subframes 310 within frame 305 .

In some embodiments, no modulation symbols are transmitted on PDCCH 330 - b or PDSCH 335 - b during dormant subframes. In some cases, some signals are transmitted, but the amount of signaling is reduced. A dormant cell may, in some cases, continue to transmit some reference signals or some control information. For example, a dormant cell may transmit overhead (discovery) signal transmissions with low periodicity on the downlink carrier. For active cells, primary synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS) may be transmitted with a period of M = 5 ms, and cell-specific reference signals (CRS) are transmitted every active subframe , the CSI-RS may be transmitted every Kth active subframe (eg, every 5th active subframe, etc.), and positioning reference signals (PRS) may be transmitted according to the configuration. . For a dormant cell, PSS/SSS and CRS/CSI-RS/PRS may be transmitted in N ms bursts every M ms with L ms offset. Parameters N, M and L may be defined in a discovery reference signal (DRS) configuration for the SCell, and may be configured by a serving active cell (eg, PCell, etc.).

In one example, the values for these variables for a dormant cell may be N=1, M=80 ms or 160 ms and L=0. UEs may detect dormant cells using PSS/SSS and measure Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) on CRS/CSI-RS/PRS. The system frame number (SFN) may be synchronized with neighboring active cells (eg, PCell). In some cases, a subframe or SFN offset may also be configured. In one embodiment, active cells (eg, PCell, other SCells, etc.) do not schedule data traffic on subframes in which the discovery signal for the dormant SCell is configured. UE radio resource management (RRM) measurements may be based on low periodicity CRS/CSI-RS/PRS. The UE 115 may determine how to combine or select CSI-RS, PRS and CRS measurements.

[0078] In some embodiments, a time period (eg, multiple radio frames such as 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc.) for transmission of cell mode indicators for SCells may be defined. can At a given period (e.g., prior to or at the beginning of each time period, etc.) can be monitored for cell mode indicators. Dormancy for predetermined periods of time may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

Additionally or alternatively, the indicators of the cell mode may be transmitted aperiodically. Aperiodic indicators of cell mode may be valid until additional cell mode indicators are transmitted. For example, a cell mode indicator received in subframe nk (eg, if k is a number equal to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, etc.) is a subframe until additional cell mode indicators are transmitted. It may be valid for frame n and all other subsequent subframes. Transmission of aperiodic cell mode indicators may occur in a subset of frames (eg, frames every 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc., frames configured for DRS, etc.) and/or subframes within frames. may be limited to a subset of (eg, subframes 0 and 5 of each frame or selected frames, etc.). Limited transmission timing for cell mode indicators may reduce the amount of blind decoding for control information used to transmit cell mode indicators. Accordingly, cell mode indicators may be transmitted according to any combination of timing schemes (eg, aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (eg, unicast, multicast, or broadcast).

The indicator may be transmitted on the carrier of the SCell itself, or in some cases transmitted by another cell (eg, PCell, etc.). Broadcast cell mode indicators may have multiple bits and may select between multiple stored configurations for SCells. The multiple configurations may include one or more stored configurations for SCells in a non-dormant state as well as one or more stored configurations for SCells in a dormant state.

4A shows a diagram 400 - a of an indication of a cell mode for one or more SCells in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 400 - a illustrates carriers for cell A 225 - c , cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e (only downlink CCs are shown for clarity) . The illustrated cells 225 may support the same UE, and each of the cells 225 may support more than one UE. Some of the cells 225 (eg, SCells) may enter a dormant state, as described above, in which the cells do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 . , can also reduce control signaling and reference signaling.

In some examples, cell A 225 - c may be a PCell (eg, PCell 225 - a in FIG. 2 ), while cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e ) may be SCells (eg, SCell 225-b or SCell 225-n in FIG. 2 ). In embodiments, cell mode indicators are cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e (eg, SCells) by cell A 225-c (eg, PCell). is sent for For example, a time period 405 (eg, multiple frames such as 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc.) for periodically transmitting cell mode indicators may be determined. Cell A 225 - c determines whether cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e are active or dormant during a given time period 405 or active subperiods within time periods 405 . Transmit (eg, broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) periodic cell mode indications 420 regarding the cell mode configuration of (eg, subframes).

In some embodiments, cell A 225 - c self-scheduling control information for UEs to which cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e are served by these cells. Transmits cell mode indicators for these cells, regardless of whether they are configured for or for cross-carrier scheduling. Although FIG. 4A illustrates the transmission on the carrier of cell A 225 - c (eg, PCell) of cell mode indicators for two other cells (eg, SCells), any number (eg, PCell) For example, cell mode indicators of cells 1, 2, 3, 5, etc.) may be indicated by cell A 225 - c.

In figure 400 - a , cell A 225 - c indicates a cell mode for cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e for respective time periods. Indicators 420 - a , 420 - b and 420 - c are transmitted at the beginning of time periods 405 - a , 405 - b and 405 - c , respectively. For example, cell mode indicator 420 - a may indicate that cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e are not dormant during time period 405 - a. Cell mode indicator 420 - b may indicate that cell B 225 - d is dormant and cell C 225 - e is not dormant during time period 405 - b . Cell mode indicator 420 - c indicates that cell C 225 - e is dormant during time period 405 - c while cell B 225 - d is a portion 425 of time period 405 - c . -a) (eg, one or more subframes, etc.) may indicate that it is dormant.

In some embodiments, no reception of a cell mode indication may be interpreted by the UEs 115 as a dormant mode. For example, the cell mode indicator 420 - b may omit the indication for cell B 225 - d, and UEs indicate that there is no indication of the cell mode for the cell during time period 405 - b. It can be interpreted as the dormancy of B(225-d). Alternatively, cells may default to active for frames in which no cell mode indications are received. For example, cell A 225 - c may not transmit cell mode indicators 420 for cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e during time period 405 - a. and the UEs 115 interpret no cell mode indication for cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e during time period 405 - a as being active or non-dormant by default. can do.

Additionally or alternatively, cell A 225 - c may transmit (eg, broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) cell mode indicators aperiodically. As described above, aperiodic indicators of cell mode may be valid until an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted and may be limited to specific frames or subframes within specific frames. Thus, cell A 225 - c is a cell according to any combination of timing schemes (eg, aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (eg, unicast, multicast, broadcast, etc.). mode indicators may be transmitted.

In some embodiments, UEs 115 decode only cell mode indicators for activated SCells. Additionally or alternatively, UEs 115 may decode cell mode indicators for deactivated but configured SCells. In this case, the UEs may assume that the deactivated SCells will transmit PSS/SSS and CRS/CSI-RS/PRS with normal periodicities of the active cell. In another embodiment, the eNB 105 may not broadcast mode information for SCells, and the UE 115 may not broadcast on a subframe basis (eg, the presence or period of various synchronization or reference signals, etc.) By detecting ), the operation mode can be determined on the subframe.

FIG. 4B shows a diagram 400 - b of an indication of a cell mode for one or more SCells using indicators transmitted on carriers of the SCells in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 400 - b illustrates carriers for cell A 225 - c , cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e (only downlink CCs are shown for clarity) . The illustrated cells 225 may support the same UE, and each of the cells 225 may support more than one UE. Some of the cells 225 (eg, SCells) may enter a dormant state, as described above, in which the cells do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 . , can also reduce control signaling and reference signaling.

In some examples, cell A 225 - c may be a PCell (eg, PCell 225 - a in FIG. 2 ), while cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e ) may be SCells (eg, SCell 225-b or SCell 225-n in FIG. 2 ). In embodiments, SCells periodically transmit indicators of cell mode. For example, a time period 405 (eg, multiple frames such as 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc.) for periodically transmitting cell mode indicators may be determined. Each cell (eg, cell B 225-d, cell C 225-e, etc.) determines whether the SCell is active or dormant for a given period of time or cell of active subframes within the frame(s). A mode indication regarding mode configuration may be transmitted (eg, broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.).

[0090] In some embodiments, the SCell periodically sends cell mode indicators for UEs served by the SCell, regardless of whether the SCell is configured for self-scheduling or cross-carrier scheduling. send to For example, even if the SCell is not configured for self-scheduling for any served UEs, the SCell may broadcast cell mode indicators periodically, and the served UEs are notified of the cell mode indicators. It is possible to monitor the downlink CC 325 of the SCell. 4B illustrates the transmission of cell mode indicators over two SCells (eg, cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e), any number (eg, 1, The cell mode indicators of the cells of 2, 3, 5, etc.) may be indicated in a similar manner.

In figure 400 - b , cell B 225 - d includes cell mode indicators 420 - d that indicate the cell mode for cell B 225 - d for respective time periods; 420-e and 420-f) are transmitted at the beginning of time periods 405-d, 405-e, and 405-f. In the illustrated example, cell mode indicator 420 - d indicates that cell B 225 - d is active or not dormant during time period 405 - d, and cell mode indicator 420 - d is not dormant. e) indicates that cell B 225 - d is dormant during time period 405 - e , and cell mode indicator 420 - f indicates that cell B 225 - d is dormant during time period 405 - f) indicate that it is dormant during part 425-b (eg, one or more frames or subframes). Similarly, cell C 225 - e displays cell mode indicators 420 - g , 420 - h and 420 - i at the beginning of time periods 405 - d , 405 - e and 405 - f . send each In the illustrated example, cell mode indicators 420 - g and 420 - h indicate that cell C 225 - e is not dormant during time periods 405 - d and 405 - e, respectively. , cell mode indicator 420 - i indicates that cell C 225 - e is dormant for time period 405 - f .

In some embodiments, no reception of an eNB cell mode indication may be interpreted by the UEs 115 as a dormant mode. For example, cell B 225 - d may omit the transmission of cell mode indicator 420 - e to indicate that cell B 225 - d is dormant for time period 405 - e . Alternatively, cells may default to active for frames in which no cell mode indications are received. For example, cell B 225 - d may omit the transmission of cell mode indicator 420 - d to indicate that cell B 225 - d is not dormant for time period 405 - d . have.

Additionally or alternatively, cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e may aperiodically transmit (eg, broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) cell mode indicators. can As described above, aperiodic indicators of cell mode may be valid until an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted and may be limited to specific frames or subframes within specific frames. Thus, cell B 225 - d and cell C 225 - e may have timing schemes (eg, aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (eg, unicast, multicast, broadcast, etc.) ) may transmit cell mode indicators according to any combination of .

In some embodiments, UEs 115 decode only cell mode indicators for activated SCells. Additionally or alternatively, UEs 115 may decode cell mode indicators for deactivated but configured SCells. In another embodiment, the eNB 105 may not broadcast mode information for SCells, and the UE 115 may not broadcast on a subframe basis (eg, the presence or period of various synchronization or reference signals, etc.) By detecting ), the operation mode can be determined on the subframe.

In some embodiments, the cell dormancy indicators 420 illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B may be transmitted using DCI signaling. 4C shows a diagram 400 - c of an indication of a cell mode for one or more SCells using DCI signaling in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 400 - c illustrates carriers for cell A 225 - c and cell B 225 - d (only downlink CCs are shown for clarity). In the diagram 400-c, cell A 225-c transmits DCI signaling indicating that cell B 225-d is not dormant during time period 405-g (eg, frame, etc.) 420-j), DCI signaling 420-k indicating that cell B 225-d is dormant for time period 405-h, and cell B 225-d with time period 405-i transmit DCI signaling 420-1 indicating that it is not dormant while Although the diagram 400 - c illustrates DCI signaling used for transmission of a cell mode indication from different cells, DCI signaling may also be used for transmission of a cell mode indication from the cell itself as illustrated in FIG. 4B . can Additionally or alternatively, DCI signaling may indicate scheduling for a message in a physical shared channel (eg, PDSCH) that includes cell dormancy indicators 420 .

In some embodiments, cell status indicators may be transmitted in a particular subframe and are valid after a certain number of subframes (eg, 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, etc.) from transmission. can be For example, diagram 400 - c indicates that cell state indicators 420 may be transmitted in subframe n and may be valid for a dormant period starting at subframe n+4 . . When cell status indicators are transmitted from the same cell (eg, from cell B 225 - e ) or from a different cell that is frame aligned with the SCell as illustrated in FIG. 4C , the indicators are: ( may be transmitted in subframe 6 to indicate the cell mode for the next radio frame (starting after 4 subframes from subframe 6). Offset 430 may allow UEs 115 to process signaling and prepare measurements of the SCell.

Additionally or alternatively to periodic transmission, cell mode indicators may be transmitted aperiodically. As described above, aperiodic indicators of cell mode may be valid until an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted and may be limited to specific frames or subframes within specific frames. Accordingly, the cell dormancy indicators 420 transmit according to any combination of timing schemes (eg, aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (eg, unicast, multicast, or broadcast). can be

In some embodiments, the cell mode indicators 420 may use DCI format 1C and may be transmitted in a common search space. One DCI format 1C message may carry cell mode indicators for more than one SCell. For example, a bitmap may be transmitted using DCI format 1C including bits representing a cell mode for a plurality of SCells 225 . The bitmap may include a number of bits for each SCell, where the plurality of bits are divided into subperiods (eg, subperiods) of time periods 405 between periodic transmissions of cell dormancy indicators. frames, etc.) to carry information related to cell dormancy. In other examples, other DCI formats may be used, including DCI format 3 and 3A.

While DCI formats have relatively high reliability, error scenarios when receiving cell indicators can be handled in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, the absence of receipt of periodic transmission of cell indicators may be interpreted as the SCell is dormant during the associated dormant time period. This may prevent CSI measurements when the SCell is dormant, which may have a greater impact on system performance than not utilizing subframes for CSI measurements when the SCell is dormant.

In some embodiments, UEs 115 may be configured for carrier aggregation of cells associated with non-collocated base station groups or eNBs 105 . Non-collocated eNBs 105 may include a master eNB (MeNB) and one or more secondary eNBs (SeNB), each of which supports multiple carrier frequencies. In some examples, the carrier frequencies utilized by the MeNB may be different from the carrier frequencies utilized by the SeNB. SeNBs may operate quasi-autonomous and may be connected to the MeNB using an inter-eNB communication interface (eg, S1, X2, etc.), which may be a non-ideal backhaul. In some examples, SeNBs may be small cells (eg, operator or user deployed, etc.) and may communicate with the MeNB using an existing backhaul, which may be a customer-grade backhaul such as dedicated internet connections. . A configuration for carrier aggregation comprising carriers from the MeNB and one or more SeNBs may be referred to as “multiflow” or “dual-connection”.

[0101] Cells associated with the MeNB may be referred to as a master cell group (MCG). One cell in the MCG may be configured as a PCell, while the remaining cells may be SCells. Cells associated with the SeNB may be referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). SCGs may include a special secondary cell (SSCell), which may be used to carry (on the associated uplink CC) PUCCH from UEs configured to operate using cells from the SCG. Accordingly, UEs configured for dual-connection may transmit one PUCCH to the MeNB via the uplink PCC and a second PUCCH to the SeNB via the uplink SCC of the SSCell. The PUCCH associated with the SSCell facilitates CSI and HARQ feedback for all cells of the SCG. In some embodiments, once the SSCell is configured for any UEs, the SSCell may remain active (eg, not dormant).

5 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 500 having a UE 115 - b configured for dual connectivity in accordance with various embodiments. In the wireless communication system 500 , the MeNB 105 - b is an MCG 510 , which may include multiple carriers (eg, carriers 225 - f , 225 - g , 225 - x , etc.). ) can be associated with In one embodiment, carrier 225-f may be one or more primary carriers (eg, PCell), and other carriers (eg, 225-g, 225-x, etc.) may be one or more 2 car carriers (eg, SCells). SeNB 105 - c may be associated with SCG 520 , which may also include multiple carriers (eg, carriers 225 - h, 225 i, 225 - y, etc.). In one embodiment, carrier 225 - h may be an SSCell, while other carriers of SCG 520 (eg, 225 - i , 225 - y , etc.) may be SCells.

As illustrated in FIG. 5 , the UE 115 - b may be configured for dual-connection using one or more carriers of the MCG 510 and one or more carriers of the SCG 520 . For example, the UE 115 - b may initially connect to the eNB 105 - b and may be configured with the carrier 225 - f as a PCell. The SSCell 225 - h may then be configured for the UE 115 - b using RRC or MAC Control Element (CE) signaling. Additionally, the SSCell 225 - h may be activated and deactivated for the UE 115 - b using RRC or MAC CE signaling. Signaling for configuring, activating, and deactivating the SSCell 225 - h may be transmitted using, for example, the PCell 225 - c .

[0104] In some embodiments, the SSCell 225 - h may also enter a dormant state during periods of time when it is not actively transmitting or receiving. Signaling the cell state of the SSCell 225 - h using synchronization techniques as described above may not be effective due to the potential for variable delays caused by non-ideal backhaul. In some embodiments, RRC signaling (eg, via PCell 225 - c) is used to indicate the cell status of the SSCell 225 - h. In some embodiments, the UE 115 - b stores one or more configurations for the SSCell 225 - h, and the signaling from the PCell 225 - c is an indication of the cell state for the SSCell 225 - h , and may not include the entire set of configuration parameters. Single or multiple bit(s) may be used to signal activation of an existing configuration. A single or multiple bit(s) may be included in, for example, an RRC message, a MAC CE, or embedded in a new or existing physical channel on the PCell 225 - c. In some embodiments, UE 115 - b may store multiple configurations for SSCell 225 - h, which configuration may include one or more configurations for SSCell 225 - h that are active or non-dormant. configurations as well as one or more configurations for the SSCell 225 - h that are inactive or dormant.

In some embodiments, UE 115 - b may store multiple configurations for SSCell 225 - h or SCG 520 , and activation of SSCell 225 - h or SCG 520 . Or the reconfiguration may be selected (eg, using multiple bits) by signaling of the stored configurations that the UE 115 - b should use. In some examples, SSCell 225 - h may carry signaling regarding configuration or activation/deactivation of SSCell 225 - h or SCG 520 . For example, the SSCell 225 - h may carry MAC signaling to deactivate the SCells of the SCG 520 or the SCell 225 - h itself. Additionally or alternatively, the SCell 225 - h may carry MAC or PHY layer signaling to indicate the status of the cells of the SCG 520 or the SSCell 225 - h.

In some embodiments, cell dormancy is supported for SCells of MCG 510 and SCG 520 using techniques described above. For example, indicators of cell dormancy for SCells associated with MCS 510 are transmitted (eg, by PCell 225 - f of MCG 510 ) as described above with reference to FIG. 4A . broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.). Accordingly, cell A 225 - c of diagram 400 - a is a PCell 225 - for SCells (eg, SCell 225 - g , SCell 225 - x , etc.) of MCG 510 . can illustrate the broadcast of cell mode indicators 420 by f). Cell mode indicators 420 may carry multiple bits for each SCell and may select between multiple configurations for SCells of MCG 510 . The multiple configurations may include one or more stored configurations for SCells in a non-dormant state as well as one or more stored configurations for SCells in a dormant state.

In other cases, indicators of cell dormancy may be transmitted (eg, broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) by SCells of the MCG 510 . For example, SCell 225-g and SCell 225-x are in cell mode indicating cell dormancy as illustrated by cell B 225-d or cell C 225-e in FIG. 4B . Indicators 420 may be broadcast.

The SeNB 105 (eg, SeNB 105 - c) associated with the SCG 520 transmits (eg, broadcast, multicast) cell mode indicators via the SSCell or the SCells themselves. , unicast, etc.) can autonomously or semi-autonomously control cell dormancy for SCells of the SCG 520 . For example, cell dormancy may be supported for SCells of SCH 520 using techniques described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B . In some embodiments, SSCell 225 - h may transmit indicators of cell dormancy for SCells associated with SCG 520 as described above with reference to FIG. 4A . In this example, SSCell 225 - h may remain active for each time period 405 as illustrated by cell A 225 - c in FIG. 4A . In other cases, indicators of cell dormancy may be transmitted by SCells of SCG 520 . For example, SCell 225 - i and SCell 225 - y are in cell mode indicating cell dormancy as illustrated by cell B 225 - d or cell C 225 - e in FIG. 4B . Indicators 420 may be transmitted. Cell mode indicators 420 may carry multiple bits and may select between multiple stored configurations for SCells of SCG 510 . The multiple configurations may include one or more stored configurations for SCells in a non-dormant state as well as one or more stored configurations for SCells in a dormant state.

The cell timing (eg, frames, subframes, etc.) of carriers of MCG 510 and SCG 520 may be synchronized, or may not be synchronized in some cases. Additionally or alternatively, the time periods for cell dormancy for MCG 510 and SCG 520 may be different. For example, MCG 510 may use a cell dormant period of one radio frame, while SCG 520 may use two radio frames. Accordingly, the time periods for cell dormancy and periodic indications of cell dormancy may be the same or different, and may or may not be synchronized.

6A shows a diagram 600 - a of a CSI reporting configuration for cell dormant periods in accordance with various embodiments. The diagram 600 - a may illustrate CSI reporting for dormant periods for SCells associated with an eNB, MeNB, or SeNB. The diagram 600 illustrates a PCell 225 - j (or SSCell 225 - j when illustrating cells associated with a SeNB) and an SCell 225 - k. In figure 600 - a, only downlink CCs are illustrated for clarity. The illustrated PCells, SSCells or SCells may support the same UE, and each of the PCells, SSCells or SCells may support more than one UE. SCells may enter a dormant state, as described above, in which cells do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 , and may also reduce control signaling and reference signaling. UEs may transmit CSI reports 630 on the uplink carrier of SCell 225-k or PCell/SSCell 225-j as appropriate. For example, if SSCell 225-j and SCell 225-k are associated with SCG 520 , UEs use the uplink carrier of SSCell 225-j on PUCCH or SSCell 225-j ), CSI may be reported on the PUSCH using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-k, or if configured, using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-k.

In the diagram 600 - a , the SCell 225 - k is active during a first time period 625 - a (eg, frames or subframes) and a second time period 625 . -b) is dormant during UE 115 configured for CA using PCell 225-j and SCell 225-k provides CSI resources for downlink CC 325 of SCell 225-k during time period 625-a. (eg, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) measurement or interference measurement resources (IMR) (eg, CSI interference measurement (CSI-IM) resources, etc.) based on the CSI report (630-a) (eg, on an uplink control channel, etc.). The CSI report 630 - a may include periodic or aperiodic CSI reports. During the time period 625 - b during which the SCell 225 - k is dormant, the UE 115 may be configured to transmit a CSI report 630 - b .

The CSI reporting 630 - b may be based on a different CSI reporting configuration than the CSI reporting configuration during the time period 625 - a. In some embodiments, the CSI report 630 - b is based on CSI measurements for the downlink CC 325 of the SCell 225 - k when the SCell 225 - k was active. For example, the UE 115 may continue to report CSI during the dormant period 625 - b , but the CSI report 630 - b may report the latest available CSI resources (eg, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.). ) can be based on Accordingly, CSI report 630 - b may include CSI based on channel or interference measurements from time period 625 - a.

In some embodiments, configuring CSI reporting for time period 625 - b includes reporting some types of CSI while suppressing other types of CSI. In some cases, UE 115 may suppress reporting on aperiodic CSI for dormant SCells while continuing to report periodic CSI. Alternatively, UE 115 may suppress reporting on periodic CSI for dormant SCells, while continuing to report aperiodic CSI based on aperiodic CSI triggers for dormant SCells.

In some embodiments, the CSI reporting configuration for time period 625 - b is associated with a different configuration for measurement and reporting based on CSI-RS signals. For example, configuring CSI reporting for time period 625 - b may include measuring and reporting CSI based on a different measurement period or offset or different reference signals than time period 625 - a . have. For example, the CSI-RS may be transmitted at the same or reduced periodicity during the time period 625-b relative to the time period 625-a, while the CRS may be suppressed during the time period 625-b. can The CSI report 630 - b may include CSI generated from the transmitted CSI-RS. In some examples, the CSI-RS may be transmitted during burst periods relative to time periods when the SCell is dormant. For example, the CSI-RS is to be transmitted every K'th subframes with a subframe offset Δ' during a burst period of N subframes with a burst period of M subframes and a burst offset of L subframes. where K' is the CSI-RS period, and Δ' is the subframe offset for cell dormant periods. Parameters N, M and L may be configured according to the DRS configuration and may be defined in terms of frames or subframes. In some examples, K′ and Δ′ may be configured separately from CSR-RS period K and subframe offset Δ for non-dormant periods, and may be determined based on burst period N (eg, subframe The offset Δ′ may be the subframe offset Δ modulo burst period N, etc.) default values.

Additionally or alternatively, the CSI reporting configuration for time period 625 - b includes measuring and reporting CSI based on different cells or different antenna port configuration than time period 625 - a . do. For example, the CSI-RS may be transmitted by the SCell during dormant periods, such as time period 625 - b from a subset of antenna ports. In some examples, UE 115 may report CSI for a default subset of antenna ports during time period 625 - b or may report CSI for a default transmission mode. In some examples, UE 115 transmits CSI for at least one neighboring non-serving SCell during time period 625 - b (eg, during time periods between DRS bursts from the serving SCell, neighboring non- based on the CSI-RS transmitted by the serving SCell, etc.). The neighboring non-serving SCell for reporting may be determined according to the physical cell index (PCI) of the neighboring cell (eg, having the same PCI as the serving SCell, PCI indicated through the PCell or SSCell, etc.).

Additionally or alternatively, channel measurements and interference measurements may be handled differently during dormant period 625 - b . For example, UE 115 may report CSI based on measurements of IMR (eg, CSI-IM, etc.) during time period 625 - b , while SCell 225 - k is active. The CQI may be reported based on channel measurements from the latest time period (eg, time period 625 - a). In other examples, UE 115 may report CSI based on measurements of IMR (eg, CSI-IM, etc.) during time period 625 - b , but CQI during time period 625 - b . reporting can be suppressed. In some cases, the UE 115 may send a “null” CSI report 630 - b indicating that it did not receive a reference signal from the SCell during the dormant period 625 - b.

In some examples, the UE 115 may perform averaging for the CSI report. During time periods during which averaging is performed, including dormant and non-dormant sub-periods, UE 115 may perform averaging in a variety of ways. For example, the UE may perform averaging for channel measurements (eg, CQI) only on subframes in which the SCell is active, and consider subframes in which the SCell was dormant as invalid for channel measurement. can The UE 115 may perform averaging for interference (eg, IMR) on any subframes including dormant subframes. If enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Cancellation (eICIC) is used for the SCell, averaging over interference may be limited to subframe subsets (eg, where eICIC is not used in the downlink).

6B shows a diagram 600 - b of a CSI reporting configuration for cell dormant periods in accordance with various embodiments. The diagram 600 - b may illustrate CSI reporting for dormant periods for SCells associated with an eNB, MeNB, or SeNB. Figure 600 - b illustrates a PCell 225 - j (or SSCell 225 - j when illustrating cells associated with a SeNB) and an SCell 225 - k. In figure 600 - b , only downlink CCs are illustrated for clarity. The illustrated PCells, SSCells or SCells may support the same UE, and each of the PCells, SSCells or SCells may support more than one UE. SCells may enter a dormant state, as described above, in which cells do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 , and may also reduce control signaling and reference signaling. UEs may transmit CSI reports 630 on the uplink carrier of SCell 225-k or PCell/SSCell 225-j as appropriate. For example, if SSCell 225-j and SCell 225-k are associated with SCG 520 , UEs use the uplink carrier of SSCell 225-j on PUCCH or SSCell 225-j ), CSI may be reported on the PUSCH using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-k, or if configured, using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-k.

In the diagram 600 - b , the SCell 225 - k is active during a first time period 625 - c (eg, frames or subframes) and a second time period 625 . -c) is dormant during UE 115 configured for CA using PCell/SSCell 225-j and SCell 225-k is configured for downlink CC 325 associated with SCell 225-k during time period 625-c. A CSI report 630 - c may be transmitted (eg, on an uplink control channel, etc.) based on CSI resources or measurements of IMR. The CSI report 630 - c may include periodic or aperiodic CSI reports. During the time period 625 - d during which the SCell 225 - k is dormant, the UE 115 may be configured to suppress CSI reporting. For example, the UE 115 may receive CSI feedback when a reference CSI feedback subframe (eg, CQI measurement subframe, IMR subframe, etc.) occurs when the SCell 225-k was operating in the dormant mode. It may be allowed to skip reporting.

7 shows a device 700 for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. Device 700 may be an example of one or more aspects of UE 115 described with reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 and 10 . The device 700 may include a receiver 705 , a sleep module 710 , or a transmitter 715 . Device 700 may also include a processor (not shown). Each of these components may communicate with each other.

The receiver 705 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (eg, control channels, data channels, etc.). The receiver 705 may receive various information channels on a primary carrier associated with the primary cell and one or more secondary carriers associated with secondary cells, including special secondary cells. Information 720 may be communicated to dormancy module 710 and to other components of device 700 . For example, information 720 may include carrier information (eg, indications of a target carrier for monitoring).

The dormancy module 710 monitors (eg, via the receiver 705 ) a primary carrier and a carrier of one or more secondary carriers for a periodic indication that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant. It may be a means to The dormancy module may also be means for determining, based on the indication, whether the at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a predetermined period of time. The sleep module 710 can communicate signals 725 to the transmitter 715 . Signals 725 may include, for example, feedback information (eg, CSI, etc.) for one or more secondary carriers.

The transmitter 715 may transmit one or more signals (eg, signals 725 , etc.) received from other components of the device 700 . The transmitter 715 may transmit information on a primary carrier associated with the primary cell and one or more secondary carriers associated with secondary cells. In some embodiments, the transmitter 715 may be collocated with the receiver 705 of the transceiver module. The transmitter 715 may include a single antenna or may include a plurality of antennas.

8 shows a device 800 for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. Device 800 may be an example of one or more aspects of UE 115 described with reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 and 10 . Device 600 - a may also be an example of device 700 described with reference to FIG. 7 . Device 800 may include a receiver 705 - a, a sleep module 710 - a, or a transmitter 715 - a, which may be examples of corresponding components of device 700 . Device 800 may also include a processor (not shown). Each of these components may communicate with each other. For example, receiver 705 - a may communicate information 820 to dormancy module 810 - a, which may forward one or more signals 825 to transmitter 715 - a. The dormancy module 710 - a may include a dormancy monitoring module 805 , a dormancy determining module 810 , or a channel state information (CSI) configuration module 815 . Receiver 705 - a and transmitter 715 - a may perform the functions of receiver 705 and transmitter 715 of FIG. 6 , respectively.

The dormancy monitoring module 805 may be means for monitoring the primary carrier and a carrier of the one or more secondary carriers for a periodic indication that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant. In one embodiment, the dormancy monitoring module may be means for monitoring the search space of the carrier at a predefined time interval for downlink control information (DCI) comprising an indication. In some embodiments, the dormancy monitoring module 805 is configured in a multi-carrier configuration including a first carrier group (eg, MCG 510 ) and a second carrier group (eg, SCG 520 ). may be a means for monitoring for periodic indications of cell dormancy. In some examples, dormancy monitoring module 805 may receive cell mode indications indicating cell dormancy for one or more carriers for a predetermined period of time. In another example, the dormancy monitoring module 805 may receive cell mode indications indicating dormancy for one or more carriers for an indefinite period of time (eg, until a next cell mode indication is received). . The dormancy monitoring module 805 may transmit an indication 830 of cell dormancy to the dormancy determining module 810 .

[0126] The dormancy determination module 810 is configured to determine whether the at least one secondary carrier is dormant (eg, aperiodically, for a period of time, etc.). In an embodiment, the dormancy determining module may also be means for determining, based on the presence of the indication, that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a predetermined period of time. In another embodiment, the dormancy determining module may also be means for determining, based on the absence of the indication, that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a predetermined period of time. In some embodiments, the dormancy determination module 810 is configured to: one or more secondary carriers from a first carrier group (eg, MCG 510 ) and a second carrier group (eg, SCG 520 ). may be a means for determining whether they are dormant for a predetermined period of time. The dormancy determination module 810 may communicate the dormancy determination 835 for the at least one secondary carrier to the CSI configuration module 815 .

[0127] The CSI configuration module 815 is means for determining a CSI reporting configuration for the at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on a determination that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a predetermined period of time. can The CSI configuration module 815 may receive the dormancy determination 835 , and may determine a CSI reporting configuration based at least in part on the dormancy determination 835 . In one embodiment, the CSI configuration module may be means for suppressing CSI reporting for at least one secondary carrier for one or more of periodic CSI reporting or aperiodic CSI reporting or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the CSI configuration module may be means for reporting CSI based on channel measurements of the at least one secondary carrier during at least one time period during which the at least one secondary carrier was non-dormant. In some cases, the CSI reporting configuration includes averaging channel measurements from at least one time period. In some cases, the configuration may include reporting the CSI based on the measurements for the at least one secondary carrier during the predetermined time period.

[0128] In some embodiments, the CSI configuration module 815 is configured to configure a multiple comprising a first carrier group (eg, MCG 510) and a second carrier group (eg, SCG 520). It may be means for determining a CSI reporting configuration for a dormant carrier for carrier configuration. The CSI configuration module 815 may independently determine, according to one or more CSI reporting configurations, CSI reporting for secondary carriers of the first carrier group and secondary carriers of the second carrier group. For example, the CSI configuration module 815 may report the CSI for dormant secondary carriers of the MCG 510 to the MeNB according to the CSI reporting configuration associated with the MCG, and configure the CSI reporting associated with the SCG 520 . CSI for secondary carriers of the SCG 520 may be reported to the SeNB.

In some examples, the CSI reporting configuration determined by the CSI configuration module 715 may include a CSI-RS measurement configuration for a predetermined time period during which the secondary carrier is dormant. For example, the CSI-RS measurement configuration is, as described above, reduced period for CSI-RS signals, CSI-RS transmission based on DRS configuration, CSI-RS signal for a reduced subset of antenna ports. measurement of CSI-RS signals, or measurement of CSI-RS signals for different secondary carriers.

9 shows a device 900 for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a dual connectivity carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. Device 900 may be an example of one or more aspects of UE 115 described with reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 and 10 . The device may also be an example of the device 700 or 800 described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 . Device 900 may include a receiver 705 - b , a dormant module 710 - b and a transmitter 715 - b , which are receivers 705 of devices 700 and 800 , a dormant module The functions described above with reference to the 710 and the transmitters 715 may be performed, respectively. Device 900 may also include a processor (not shown). The device may also include a dual connectivity module 940 . Each of these components may communicate with each other. For example, the receiver 705 - b may communicate the information 905 to the dormancy module 710 - b or the dual connectivity module 940 . The dormancy module 710 - b or the dual connection module 940 may communicate the information 915 to the transmitter 715 - b.

The dual connectivity module 940 may perform functions associated with operating in a carrier aggregation configuration that includes cells associated with non-collocated eNBs 105 . For example, the dual connectivity module 940 may establish a connection with the MeNB 105 and receive a configuration for one or more SCells of the MCG 510 associated with the MeNB 105 . The dual connectivity module 940 may receive configuration information for cells of the SCG 520 associated with the SeNB 105 , and the SCG configuration module 945 may configure one or more SCells of the SCG 520 and a configuration of the SSCell; Activation and deactivation can be managed. In some cases, the configuration information may be conveyed by information 905 passed from receiver 705 - b. In some cases, the dual connectivity module 940 may communicate bi-directionally with the dormant module 710 - b (eg, the connection information 910 includes the dual connectivity module 940 and the dormant module 710 - b). b) can be passed between).

In some embodiments, the SCG configuration module 945 may store one or more configurations for the SSCell of the SCG 520 . The dual access module 940 may activate or deactivate the SSCell based on signaling from the PCell. For example, the dual connectivity module 940 receives (eg, via information 905 ) an RRC message, a single bit embedded in a new or existing physical channel on the PCell during activation of the MAC CE or SSCell. can do. The dual connection module 940 may retrieve the stored configuration from the SCG configuration module 945 and activate the SSCell according to the stored configuration. Accordingly, the dual connectivity module 940 may activate the SSCell based on RRC signaling without receiving the full set of configuration parameters.

In some embodiments, the SCG configuration module 945 may store multiple configurations for the SSCell or SCG 520 , and the dual connectivity module 940 indicates which of the stored configurations to use. may activate or reconfigure the SSCell or SCG 520 based on the received signaling (eg, using multiple bits). In some examples, the SSCell may carry signaling regarding configuration or activation/deactivation of the SSCell or SCG 520 . For example, the SSCell may carry MAC signaling to deactivate the SCells of the SCG 520 or the SCell itself. Additionally or alternatively, MAC or PHY layer signaling received from the SSCell may indicate the status of the cells or the SSCell of the SCG 520 .

The dual connectivity module 940 cooperates with the dormancy module 710 - b to (eg, using the information 910 ) to cell dormancy of the SCells associated with the MCG 510 and the SCG 520 . can be monitored for For example, the dormancy module 710 - b may be configured to support the carrier of the PCell of the MCG 510 for indications of cell mode associated with the SCells of the MCG 510 , as described above with reference to FIGS. 4A and 5 . can be monitored. In other cases, the dormancy module 710 - b may monitor the carriers of the SCells of the MCG 510 for indications of cell dormancy, as described above with reference to FIGS. 4B and 5 . Similarly, the dormancy module 710 - b may configure the SSCell of the SCG 520 for indications of a cell mode associated with the SCells of the SCG 520 , as described above with reference to FIGS. 4A , 4B and 5 . of the carrier or carriers of SCells. In some examples, dormancy indicators for SCells of MCG 510 may be handled differently than dormancy indicators for SCells of SCG 520 . Accordingly, the dormancy module 710 - b may monitor the PCell of the MCG 510 for dormancy indicators of the SCells of the MCG 510 while monitoring each SCell of the SCG 520 . As described above, the dormancy module 710 - b may monitor for cell mode indicators for configured SCells or in some cases only activated SCells.

FIG. 10 shows a system 1000 for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. The system 1000 may include a UE 115 - c , which may be an example of the UEs 115 of FIGS. 1 , 2 , or 5 .

The UE 115 - c may generally include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting communications and components for receiving communications. UE 115 - c may include antenna(s) 1040 , transceiver module 1035 , processor module 1005 and memory 1015 (including software (SW) 1020 ), Each of these may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (eg, via one or more buses 1045 ). The transceiver module 1035 may be configured to communicate bi-directionally with one or more networks, via the antenna(s) 1040 or one or more wired or wireless links, as described above. For example, the transceiver module 1035 may be configured to communicate bi-directionally with the base stations 105 with reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 or 5 . Transceiver module 1035 may include a modem configured to modulate packets, provide modulated packets to antenna(s) 1040 for transmission, and demodulate packets received from antenna(s) 1040 . can UE 115 - c may include a single antenna 1040 , while UE 115 - c may have multiple antennas 1040 capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously. . The transceiver module 1035 may communicate concurrently with one or more base stations 105 over multiple component carriers.

[0137] The UE 115 - c is a dormant module ( 710-c). The UE 115 - c may also include a channel quality module 1025 and a carrier aggregation module 1030 . The channel quality module 1025 may perform channel measurements and interference measurements on the configured carriers. For example, the channel quality module 1025 may perform measurements of carriers of SCells for CSI reporting as described above with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B . The carrier aggregation module 1030 may perform functions associated with configuring the UE 115 - c for carrier aggregation. For example, the carrier aggregation module 1030 is configured to configure messaging (eg, to configure one or more SCells for the UE 115 - c , including configuring scheduling and activation/deactivation of the one or more SCells). , RRC, MAC, etc.). The UE 115 - c may include a dual connectivity module 940 - a that may perform the functions described above with respect to the dual connectivity module 940 of the device 900 of FIG. 9 .

[0138] Memory 1015 may include random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM). Memory 1015 may store computer readable computer executable software/firmware code 1020 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause processor module 1005 to perform various functions described herein. (eg, call processing, database management, processing of carrier mode indicators, CSI reporting for dormant SCells according to CSI configuration, etc.). Alternatively, the software/firmware code 1020 may not be directly executable by the processor module 1005 , but, for example, when compiled and executed, causes the computer to perform the functions described herein. can be configured to do so. The processor module 1005 may include an intelligent hardware device (eg, a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.).

11 shows a device 1100 for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. The device 1100 may be an example of one or more aspects of the eNB 105 described with reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 and 5 . The device 1100 may include a receiver 1105 , a carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 , a dormancy indication module 1115 , or a transmitter 1120 . Device 1100 may also include a processor (not shown). Each of these components may communicate with each other.

The receiver 1105 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (eg, control channels, data channels, etc.). The receiver 1105 may receive various information channels on one or more carriers. The received information 1125 may be communicated to the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 and to other components of the device 1100 .

[0141] The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110, at the base station 105, is configured to include a plurality of primary carriers (eg, PCell) and one or more secondary carriers (eg, SCells). It may be a means for establishing a configuration for communication with one or more UEs 115 using carriers. The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may perform functions associated with configuring UEs 115 and carriers (eg, PCells, SSCells or SCells) for carrier aggregation. . For example, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 is configured to configure one or more UEs for carrier aggregation using one or more SCells, including configuring scheduling and activation/deactivation of one or more SCells. It may process messaging (eg, RRC, MAC, etc.). In some cases, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 adjusts a schedule for transmitting reference signals (eg, CRS, CSI-RS, PRS, etc.) to the UE 115 , for example. can Adjusting the schedule for transmitting the reference signals may be based on the dormant secondary carrier. In some cases, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may reduce the frequency (ie, temporal frequency) of the reference signal transmission.

In some embodiments, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 is configured for UEs configured for carrier aggregation using cells associated with non-collocated base station groups or eNBs 105 . You can manage carrier aggregation for For example, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1100 may be implemented in the MeNB and provides functionality (eg, configuration, activation and deactivation, etc.) to support one or more SCells and PCell of the MCG associated with the MeNB. can provide The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may provide functionality for interfacing with one or more SeNBs and managing configuration (eg, configuration, activation and deactivation, etc.) of an SCG or SSCell associated with the SeNBs. .

[0143] In other examples, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1100 may be implemented in the SeNB, and has one or more SCells of an SCG associated with the SeNB and functionality to support the SSCell (eg, configure, activate and deactivate). etc) can be provided. The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may provide functionality for communication between the SeNB and one or more MeNBs to provide dual connectivity for UEs served by the SeNB.

The dormancy indication module 1115 is configured to, for example, based on the one or more signals 1130 received from the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 , at least one 2 from the one or more secondary carriers. It may be a means for indicating to one or more UEs that the secondary carrier is dormant. In one embodiment, the dormancy indication module may be means for processing downlink control information (DCI) for transmission in a search space associated with the secondary carrier. In some cases, DCI is transmitted according to DCI format 1C. In an embodiment, the dormancy indication module 1115 may be means for omitting transmission of an indication that the at least one secondary carrier from the one or more secondary carriers is non-dormant for a predetermined period of time. The dormancy indication module 1115 may determine time periods during which the SCell is dormant, for example, based on scheduling information for one or more UEs.

The transmitter 1120 may transmit one or more signals 1135 received from other components of the device 1100 . In some embodiments, the transmitter 1120 may be collocated with the receiver 1105 of the transceiver module. The transmitter 1120 may include a single antenna or may include a plurality of antennas. The transmitter 1120 may be means for transmitting, in cooperation with the dormancy indication module 1115 , an indication that at least one secondary carrier from the one or more secondary carriers is dormant for a predetermined period of time. In some cases, the transmitter may be means for transmitting the indication by a carrier different than the secondary carrier. For example, the PCell may transmit an indication that the SCell is dormant. In other cases, the transmitter may be means for transmitting a dormancy indication for the SCell on a secondary carrier associated with the SCell.

12 shows a communication system 1200 that may be configured for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. System 1200 may be an example of aspects of systems 100 , 200 or 500 of FIGS. 1 , 2 or 5 . System 1200 includes an eNB 105 - c that may incorporate the functions and components of device 1100 of FIG. 11 .

In some cases, the eNB 105 - c may have one or more wired backhaul links. The eNB 105 - c may have a wired backhaul link (eg, an S1 interface, etc.) to the core network 130 - a. The eNB 105 - c may also communicate with other base stations 105 , such as the base station 105 - m and the base station 105 - n via inter-base station communication links (eg, X2 interface, etc.). have. Each of the base stations 105 may communicate with the UEs 115 using the same or different wireless communication technologies. In some cases, the eNB 105 - c may utilize the base station communication module 1220 to communicate with other base stations, such as 105-m or 105-n. In some embodiments, the base station communication module 1220 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communication between some of the base stations 105 . In some embodiments, the eNB 105 - c may communicate with other base stations via the core network 130 - a. In some cases, the eNB 105 - c may communicate with the core network 130 - a via the network communication module 1205 .

Components for the eNB 105 - c may be configured to implement aspects discussed above with respect to the eNB 105 of FIGS. 1 , 2 or 5 or the device 1100 of FIG. 11 , some Aspects may not be repeated here for brevity. For example, the eNB 105 - c may be configured to indicate to the UEs 115 served by the secondary cells whether one or more of the secondary cells are dormant. The eNB may include a carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 - a and a dormancy indication module 1115 - a, which are, respectively, a carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 and a dormancy indication module of the device 900 , respectively. (1115).

The eNB 105 - c includes a processor module 1225 , memory 1230 (including software (SW) 1235 ), transceiver modules 1240 , and antenna(s) 1245 . and each of them may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (eg, via bus system 1250 ). Transceiver modules 1240 may be configured to communicate bi-directionally via antenna(s) 1245 with UEs 115 , which may be multi-mode devices. The transceiver module 1240 (or other components of the eNB 105 - c) may also be configured to communicate bi-directionally with one or more other base stations (not shown) via the antennas 1245 . Transceiver module 1240 may include a modem configured to modulate packets, provide modulated packets to antennas 1245 for transmission, and demodulate packets received from antennas 1245 . The eNB 105 - b may include multiple transceiver modules 1240 , each having one or more associated antennas 1245 . The transceiver module may be an example of the combined receiver 1105 and transmitter 1120 of FIG. 11 .

[0150] Memory 1230 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1230 may also store computer-readable computer-executable software code 1235 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause processor module 1225 to perform various functions described herein. (eg, selecting coverage enhancement techniques, call processing, database management, message routing, etc.). Alternatively, software 1235 may not be directly executable by processor module 1225 , but, for example, when compiled and executed, is configured to cause a computer to perform the functions described herein. can be

The processor module 1225 may include an intelligent hardware device, eg, a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like. The processor module 1225 may include various special purpose processors, such as encoders, queue processing modules, baseband processors, radio head controllers, digital signal processors (DSPs), and the like.

According to the architecture of FIG. 12 , the eNB 105 - c may further include a base station communication module 1220 . The base station communication module 1220 may manage communications with other base stations 105 . The communications management module may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with the UEs 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105 . For example, the base station communication module 1220 may perform scheduling for transmissions to the UEs 115 or various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission.

13A and 13B show flowcharts 1300 - a and 1300 - b illustrating methods for dynamic cell mode indication in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. The steps of the flowcharts 1300 - a and 1300 - b are accomplished by the UE 115 of FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 and 10 or the devices 700 , 800 or 900 of FIGS. 7-9 . can be

[0154] In blocks 1305-a and 1305-b of flowcharts 1300 - a and 1300-b, the UE may monitor for an indication of dormancy. In an embodiment, the UE may include monitoring the primary carrier and one of the one or more secondary carriers for an indication that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant (eg, periodic, aperiodic, etc.) can In some cases, the predetermined period of time corresponding to the periodic indication may include one or more radio frames or subframes. In one embodiment, monitoring may be accomplished by dormancy monitoring module 805 .

In some cases, the UE 115 is associated with a first carrier group (eg, MCG) associated with a first base station (eg, MeNB) and a second base station (eg, SeNB). It may be configured for carrier aggregation according to a multi-carrier configuration including a second carrier group (eg, SCG). The first carrier group may include only the primary carrier, or a first set of primary and secondary carriers. The second carrier group may include a second set of secondary carriers. The UE 115 may monitor one or more carriers for cell dormancy of secondary carriers from the first carrier group or the second carrier group.

[0156] In some cases, monitoring the carrier may include monitoring the search space of the carrier at a predefined time interval for downlink control information (DCI) including the indication. In some cases, the at least one secondary carrier itself is monitored for indication. In other cases, a primary carrier (eg, PCell for carriers of MCG) or a special secondary carrier (eg, SSCell for carriers of SCG) is a dormant indication for at least one secondary carrier are monitored for In one embodiment, the monitoring for the indication is based on an activation state of the at least one secondary carrier.

At block 1310 , the UE may determine whether an indication has been received. In one embodiment, the dormancy determination module 810 is configured to determine, based on the indication, whether the at least one secondary carrier is dormant (eg, aperiodically, for a predetermined period of time, or for a predetermined period of time) for selected subframes, etc.). In dual connectivity carrier aggregation configurations, the at least one secondary carrier may be a secondary carrier of a first carrier group or a secondary carrier group.

If the dormancy indication for the at least one secondary carrier is received at block 1310 , the UE may determine at block 1315 that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant. In one embodiment, dormancy for the at least one secondary carrier is determined at block 1315 by the presence of the dormancy indicator transmitted at block 1310 . The dormant indication may indicate that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant aperiodically, for a predetermined period, or for a portion of a predetermined time period (eg, subframes of a radio frame, etc.).

[0159] If an indication is received at block 1310 indicating that the at least one secondary carrier is not dormant for a predetermined period of time, the UE may determine, at block 1320, that the at least one secondary carrier is not dormant have. In some cases, the absence of an indication of dormancy at block 1310 may indicate that the at least one secondary carrier is not dormant for a predetermined period of time at block 1320 .

[0160] At block 1330 of flowchart 1300 - b, the UE may determine that the absence of the dormancy related indication may be interpreted as an indication of dormancy. For example, the UE may consider that the absence of DCI information related to dormancy for the secondary carrier of one or more secondary carriers means that the carrier will be dormant for a predetermined period of time.

At block 1335 , if the absence of an indication for at least one of the one or more secondary carriers is detected, the UE may determine that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a predetermined period of time. have.

At block 1330 , if an indication related to dormancy is received for at least one secondary carrier of the one or more secondary carriers, the UE determines, at block 1340 , that the at least one secondary carrier is not dormant. can decide In some cases, the indication related to dormancy may indicate that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant for a predetermined time period, and may include information about sub-periods of the predetermined time period. For example, the indication may indicate subframes within a radio frame in which at least one secondary carrier is active. The UE may determine that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant for other subframes. Additionally or alternatively, the indication associated with dormancy may indicate that the at least one secondary carrier is aperiodically dormant.

14 is a flowchart 1400 illustrating a method for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting of channel and interference feedback for dormant cells in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. The steps herein may be accomplished by the UEs 115 of FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 or 10 or the devices 700 , 800 or 900 of FIGS. 7-9 .

At block 1405 , the UE 115 may determine that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant. The UE 115 may determine that the at least one secondary carrier is dormant, eg, based on an indication of cell dormancy or based on inferring cell dormancy from signals of the carrier transmitted by the secondary cell. have.

In some cases, the UE 115 is associated with a first carrier group (eg, MCG) associated with a first base station (eg, MeNB) and a second base station (eg, SeNB). It may be configured for carrier aggregation according to a multi-carrier configuration including a second carrier group (eg, SCG). The first carrier group may include only the primary carrier, or a first set of primary and secondary carriers. The second carrier group may include a second set of secondary carriers. The at least one secondary carrier may include secondary carriers of the first carrier group or the second carrier group.

At block 1410 , the UE 115 may determine whether to suppress periodic or aperiodic CSI reports for the at least one secondary carrier. In one embodiment, UE 115 may suppress CSI reporting for both periodic and aperiodic CSI reporting. In other embodiments, UE 115 may suppress aperiodic CSI reports while reporting periodic CSI. In yet other embodiments, the UE 115 may report both periodic and aperiodic CSI for the at least one secondary carrier, even when the at least one carrier is dormant.

At block 1415 , the UE 115 may determine whether to include the dormant period in the CSI calculation for CSI reporting for the at least one secondary carrier. In some embodiments, the UE 115 may report the CSI for the at least one secondary carrier using the latest channel measurements, including during dormant periods. In some embodiments, the UE 115 is configured to report CSI for dormant periods of the at least one secondary carrier using channel measurements made during at least one time period during which the at least one secondary carrier was non-dormant. can Alternatively, CSI for interference reporting and channel measurements may be handled differently. For example, the UE may perform interference measurements (eg, IMR, etc.) based on measurements for a dormant period while using channel measurements from a time period during which the carrier was not dormant or suppressing CSI reporting of channel measurements. based) can be reported.

At block 1420 , the UE 115 may report CSI based on the determinations of steps 1410 and 1415 . In some cases, reporting the CSI for the at least one secondary carrier may include averaging the interference measurements or channel from the at least one time period. For example, UE 115 may report CSI for channel measurements averaged from subframes in which at least one secondary carrier was not dormant. In some embodiments, UE 115 may report CSI for averaged interference measurements from both dormant and non-dormant subframes.

15A and 15B are flow diagrams 1500 - a and 1500 - b illustrating methods for dynamic cell mode indication in a carrier aggregation environment in accordance with various embodiments. The steps of the flowcharts 1500 - a and 1500 - b may be accomplished by components of the base station 105 with reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 or 12 or the device 1100 with reference to FIG. 11 . .

[0170] In blocks 1505-a and 1505-b of flowcharts 1500-a and 1500-b, respectively, the eNB 105 serving the UE 115 uses multiple carriers to determine the UE 115 ) can be configured for communication with In an embodiment, the serving eNB may set a configuration for communication with at least one UE using a primary carrier, a special secondary carrier, or a plurality of carriers including one or more secondary carriers.

In some cases, the eNB 105 may be operative to provide dual connectivity carrier aggregation for one or more UEs. For example, UEs 115 may have a first carrier group (eg, MCG) associated with a first base station (eg, MeNB) and a second carrier associated with a second base station (eg, SeNB). It may be configured for carrier aggregation according to a multi-carrier configuration including a group (eg, SCG). The first carrier group may include only the primary carrier, or a first set of primary and secondary carriers. The second carrier group may include a second set of secondary carriers. The steps of flowcharts 1500 - a and 1500 - b may be performed, for example, by a MeNB for secondary carriers of an MCG or by a SeNB for secondary carriers of an SCG.

[0172] Flowchart 1500 - a may illustrate an indication of a cell mode in which the cell mode may default to an active mode. At block 1510 of flowchart 1500 - a, the eNB 105 determines that the secondary carrier (eg, SCell) is configured for a predetermined period of time (eg, one or more frames or subframes, etc.) You can decide whether it is dormant or not. At block 1510 , if the secondary carrier is dormant, the eNB 105 may omit sending the indication at block 1515 .

At block 1510 , if it is determined that the secondary carrier will be dormant for some or all of the predetermined time period, the eNB 105 may send an indication to the UEs that the secondary carrier is dormant. The indication may be transmitted using the secondary carrier itself, or may be transmitted on a different carrier than the secondary carrier (eg, PCell or SSCell). In embodiments, if the secondary carrier is dormant for portions of a predetermined time period (eg, frames or subframes of the predetermined time period), a dormancy indicator is transmitted at block 1520 . In one embodiment, these steps may be accomplished by the dormancy indication module 1115 . In some cases, this may include transmitting a DCI in the search space of the monitored carrier for an indication of dormancy. The search space may include a common search space for at least one UE. In one embodiment, DCI is transmitted according to DCI format 1C.

[0174] Flowchart 1500 - b may illustrate an indication of a cell mode in which the cell mode may default to a sleep mode. If the secondary carrier is dormant at block 1530 of the flowchart 1500 - b, then the eNB 105 may omit sending the indication for the secondary carrier for a predetermined period of time at block 1535 .

At block 1530 , if it is determined that the secondary carrier is not dormant for some or all of the predetermined time period, the eNB 105 may send an indication to the UEs that the secondary carrier is not dormant. The indication may be transmitted using the secondary carrier itself, or may be transmitted on a different carrier than the secondary carrier (eg, PCell or SSCell). In embodiments, if the secondary carrier is dormant for portions of a predetermined time period (eg, frames or subframes of the time period) and is active for other portions, then an indication dormant at block 1520 . self is sent In one embodiment, these steps may be accomplished by the dormancy indication module 1115 . In some cases, this may include transmitting a DCI in the search space of the monitored carrier for an indication of dormancy. The search space may include a common search space for at least one UE. In one embodiment, DCI is transmitted according to DCI format 1C.

[0176] In some embodiments, the carrier used for transmission of the dormancy indication in blocks 1520 and 1540 may be independent of the carrier used for scheduling information. For example, the dormancy indication may be transmitted on a PCell or SSCell even when the secondary carrier is configured for self-scheduling for one or more UEs served by the secondary carrier, or served by the secondary carrier. may be transmitted on the secondary carrier even when the secondary carrier is configured for cross-carrier scheduling for one or more UEs.

[0177] The detailed description set forth above in connection with the appended drawings describes exemplary embodiments and does not represent the only embodiments that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” as used throughout this description means “serving as an example, illustration, or illustration” rather than “beneficial” or “preferred” over other embodiments. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described embodiments.

It will be understood that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may refer to voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles. , light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0179] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, eg, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0180] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope and spirit of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located in various locations, including distributed such that portions of functions are implemented in different physical locations. Also, as used herein, including the claims, "or" used in a list of items prefaced with "at least one of" means, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B or C". represents an alternative list to mean A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (ie, A and B and C).

Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable medium carries desired program code means in the form of RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or instructions or data structures. or any other medium that can be used for storage and accessible by a general purpose or special purpose computer or general purpose or special purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave. , coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of a medium. Disks (disk and disc) as used herein include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk (floppy disk) and Blu-ray disc (disc), where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically by means of lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0182] The previous description of the present disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. The term “example” or “exemplary” throughout this disclosure indicates an example or instance and does not imply or require any preference for the recited example. Therefore, this disclosure is not to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0183] The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms “system” and “network” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), or the like. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Release 0 and Release A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is often referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), and the like. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. The TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and the like. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS using E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used with the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as other systems and radio technologies. However, although the above description describes an LTE system for purposes of illustration, and LTE terminology is used in much of the above description, the techniques are applicable beyond LTE applications.

Claims (30)

A wireless communication method comprising:
identifying a multi-carrier configuration, wherein the multi-carrier configuration comprises a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group is associated with a first base station, and comprises only a primary carrier; or comprising the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers, wherein the second carrier group is associated with a second base station and comprises a second set of secondary carriers, wherein the second carrier group comprises a second set of secondary carriers. at least one secondary carrier of the first set or the second set of secondary carriers aperiodically transitions between dormant and non-dormant;
monitoring the one or more secondary carriers for a cell mode indicator indicating that a secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
determining based on the received cell mode indicator that a first secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
a second secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers based on failure to detect information related to dormancy on the one or more secondary carriers during the monitoring determining that is aperiodically dormant; and
transmitting a channel feedback report for the one or more secondary carriers while the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are dormant;
The channel feedback report includes channel interference feedback based on measurements of the one or more secondary carrier resources while the primary secondary carrier and the secondary secondary carrier are dormant and the primary secondary carrier and the secondary carrier. and channel quality feedback based on channel measurements of the one or more secondary carriers from a previous non-dormant period of the secondary carrier of two. The method of claim 1,
The monitoring step includes:
and monitoring one or more secondary carriers from the first carrier group for cell mode indicators associated with the one or more secondary carriers of the first set of secondary carriers. The method of claim 1,
the second carrier group includes a special secondary carrier carrying an uplink control channel for carriers of the second carrier group, and
wherein the monitoring includes monitoring the special secondary carrier for cell mode indicators associated with one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers. The method of claim 1,
the second carrier group includes a special secondary carrier carrying an uplink control channel for carriers of the second carrier group, and
wherein the monitoring includes monitoring the one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers for cell mode indicators associated with the one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers , a method of wireless communication. The method of claim 1,
The monitoring comprises, at predefined time intervals, for downlink control information (DCI) comprising indications of cell dormancy, at least a first carrier of the first carrier group and at least a second carrier of the second carrier group. and monitoring one or more search spaces of two carriers. The method of claim 1,
and monitoring indications of cell dormancy for the multi-carrier configuration is based on activation states of secondary carriers of the first and second sets of secondary carriers. The method of claim 1,
receiving an indication of cell dormancy associated with the first secondary carrier;
and determining that the first secondary carrier is dormant includes determining that the first secondary carrier is dormant for a predetermined period of time. The method of claim 1,
receiving an indication of cell dormancy associated with the first secondary carrier;
and determining that the first secondary carrier is dormant includes determining that the first secondary carrier is dormant until a next cell dormancy indication is received. A wireless communication method comprising:
determining, at the UE, a multi-carrier configuration comprising a first carrier group and a second carrier group, wherein the first carrier group is associated with a first base station and contains only a primary carrier or the primary carrier group a carrier and a first set of secondary carriers, the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and comprising a second set of secondary carriers, the first set of secondary carriers or the one or more secondary carriers from the second set of secondary carriers aperiodically transition between dormant and non-dormant;
monitoring the one or more secondary carriers for a cell mode indicator indicating that a secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
determining based on the received cell mode indicator that a first secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
that a second secondary carrier from one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is aperiodically dormant, the absence of information related to dormancy for the second secondary carrier determining based, at least in part, on detecting an aperiodic transition between non-dormant and dormant from
reporting channel state information (CSI) for the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are dormant determining a configuration; and
Comprising the step of performing CSI reporting according to the CSI reporting configuration,
The CSI reporting configuration includes a first antenna port configuration for CSI reporting when the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are dormant, and the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier and a second antenna port configuration for CSI reporting when non-dormant, wherein the first antenna port configuration is different from the second antenna port configuration. 10. The method of claim 9,
The step of performing the CSI reporting,
determining whether the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are associated with the first base station or the second base station; and
performing CSI reporting for the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier to the first base station or to the second base station based on the determined association and according to the CSI reporting configuration Further comprising, a wireless communication method. 10. The method of claim 9,
The first type of CSI includes periodic CSI reporting, and the second type of CSI includes aperiodic CSI reporting. 10. The method of claim 9,
The CSI reporting configuration further comprises averaging channel measurements from at least one time period. 10. The method of claim 9,
determining a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS) measurement configuration for the at least one secondary carrier; and
Further comprising the step of performing CSI-RS measurements on the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier according to the CSI-RS measurement configuration,
performing the CSI reporting is based on the CSI-RS measurements and the determined CSI reporting configuration. 14. The method of claim 13,
The performing of the CSI reporting may include channel measurements of the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier, interference measurements of the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier, or and reporting one or more of combinations thereof. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising:
means for identifying a multi-carrier configuration, wherein the multi-carrier configuration includes a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group is associated with a first base station, and includes only a primary carrier or comprising the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers, the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and comprising a second set of secondary carriers, at least one secondary carrier of the first set or the second set of secondary carriers aperiodically transitions between dormant and non-dormant;
means for monitoring the one or more secondary carriers for a cell mode indicator indicating that a secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
means for determining based on the received cell mode indicator that a first secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
a second secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers based on failure to detect information related to dormancy on the one or more secondary carriers during the monitoring means for determining that is aperiodically dormant; and
means for transmitting a channel feedback report for the one or more secondary carriers while the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are dormant;
The channel feedback report includes channel interference feedback based on measurements of the one or more secondary carrier resources while the primary secondary carrier and the secondary secondary carrier are dormant and the primary secondary carrier and the secondary carrier. and channel quality feedback based on channel measurements of the one or more secondary carrier from a previous non-dormant period of the secondary carrier. 16. The method of claim 15,
The means for monitoring include:
monitoring one or more secondary carriers from the first carrier group for cell mode indicators associated with the one or more secondary carriers of the first set of secondary carriers. 16. The method of claim 15,
the second carrier group includes a special secondary carrier carrying an uplink control channel for carriers of the second carrier group, and
and the means for monitoring monitors the special secondary carrier for cell mode indicators associated with one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers. 16. The method of claim 15,
the second carrier group includes a special secondary carrier carrying an uplink control channel for carriers of the second carrier group, and
wherein the means for monitoring monitors the one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers for cell mode indicators associated with the one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers. device for them. 16. The method of claim 15,
The means for monitoring is, for downlink control information (DCI) comprising indications of cell dormancy, at predefined time intervals, at least a first carrier of the first carrier group and at least a second carrier group of the second carrier group. An apparatus for wireless communications monitoring one or more search spaces of a second carrier. 16. The method of claim 15,
and the means for monitoring monitors the indications based on activation states of secondary carriers of the first and second sets of secondary carriers. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising:
means for determining a multi-carrier configuration comprising a first carrier group and a second carrier group, wherein the first carrier group is associated with a first base station and comprises only a primary carrier or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers, wherein the second carrier group is associated with a second base station and comprises a second set of secondary carriers, the first set of secondary carriers or the two one or more secondary carriers from the second set of primary carriers aperiodically transition between dormant and non-dormant;
means for monitoring the one or more secondary carriers for a cell mode indicator indicating that a secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
means for determining based on the received cell mode indicator that a first secondary carrier from at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is dormant;
that a second secondary carrier from one of the first set of secondary carriers or the second set of secondary carriers is aperiodically dormant, the absence of information related to dormancy for the second secondary carrier means for determining based, at least in part, on detecting an aperiodic transition between non-dormant and dormant from
reporting channel state information (CSI) for the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are dormant means for determining a configuration; and
means for performing CSI reporting according to the CSI reporting configuration;
The CSI reporting configuration includes a first antenna port configuration for CSI reporting when the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are dormant, and the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier and a second antenna port configuration for CSI reporting when non-dormant, wherein the first antenna port configuration is different from the second antenna port configuration. 22. The method of claim 21,
The means for performing the CSI reporting,
means for determining whether the first secondary carrier and the second secondary carrier are associated with the first base station or the second base station;
The means for performing the CSI reporting is the first secondary carrier and the second secondary to the first base station or to the second base station based on the determined association and according to the CSI reporting configuration. An apparatus for wireless communications that performs CSI reporting for a carrier. 22. The method of claim 21,
The first type of CSI comprises periodic CSI reporting and the second type of CSI comprises aperiodic CSI reporting. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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